This invention relates to an N-benzyl-2-(4-fluoro3-trifluoromethylphenoxy)butanoic amide which is a novel compound and a herbicidal composition containing the same.
Heretofore, as compounds which show herbicidal effects, there have been known various compounds. For example, as function of killing weeds of a 2-phenoxybutanoic amide type compounds, there have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,840,596, No. 3,852,345, No. 4,051,184, No. 4,087,277, No. 4,116,677 and No. 4,119,433; Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 67653/1983, No. 113155/1983 and No. 29645/1984; and the like.
The above six U.S. Patents each discloses amide derivatives of aliphatic amines such as lower alkylamines, lower alkynylamines, cyanoalkylamines and lower alkoxyamines with 2-phenoxybutanoic acid, and there is neither disclosed in the specification of the above prior art references concerning amide derivatives of benzylamine to be used in the present invention and 2-phenoxybutanoic acid, i.e., N-benzyl-2-phenoxybutanoic amide series compounds at all.
Further, in the above Japanese Provisional patent Publications No. 67653/1983, No. 113155/1983 and No. 29645/1984, there are disclosed summarily that the phenoxyalkanoic amide derivative represented by the following general formula: ##STR2## wherein X and Y each represent a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group, a lower alkoxy group, a propionyl group, a nitro group, a cyano group or a halogen atom; R.sub.1 represents a lower alkyl group; R.sub.2 represents a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group or a lower alkenyl group; R.sub.3 represents a hydrogen atom or a lower alkyl group; and Z represents a phenyl group, a furyl group, a thienyl group, a pyridyl group or a naphthyl group and hydrogen atoms of the phenyl group may be substituted by a lower alkyl group, a lower alkoxy group, a chlorine atom or a nitro group,
has a herbicidal function. However, the compound of the present invention is that X in the above general formula is a fluorine atom and Y is a trifluoromethyl group and there is not disclosed concerning the compound in the above three Japanese Provisional Patent Publications at all.
Further, in the above Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 29645/1984, there is disclosed that 2-phenoxyalkanoic amide derivatives represented by the following general formula: ##STR3## wherein X' represents a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom; R'.sub.1 represents a lower alkyl group; R'.sub.2 represents a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group, a lower alkenyl group, a lower alkynyl group or a lower alkoxy group; R'.sub.3 represents a hydrogen atom or a lower alkyl group; and Y' represents a phenyl group, a thienyl group, a pyridyl group or a furyl group and hydrogen atoms of the phenyl group may be replaced by a lower alkyl group, a lower alkoxy group or a halogen atom,
has a herbicidal function. However, in the above publication, while the substituent X' in the compound represented by the above formula is defined as a halogen atom, only the case where the halogen atom is a chlorine atom is disclosed in the examples thereof and the herbicidal effect of the case is insufficient.